Web guide means for blank forming mechanism



March 23, 1965 P. ZERNOV 3,174,659

WEB GUIDE MEANS FOR BLANK FORMING MECHANISM Filed April 17, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 1 [F0 /9 go INVENTOR.

175 7'5? ZEe No BY March 23, 1965 z ov 3,174,669

WEB GUIDE MEANS FOR BLANK FORMING MECHANISM Filed April 17, 1965 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 1 57-512 ZEEA/Ol/ United States Patent 3,174,669WEB GUHDE MEANS FGR BLANK FGRMENG MEQHANISM Peter Zernov, Wauwatosa,Wis, assignor to Zerand Corporation, llienomonee Falls, Win, acorporation of Wisconsin Filed Apr. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 273,726 6 Claims.(Cl. 226-117) This invention relates generally to carton blank formingmechanism which has a pair of continuously active metering feed rollsfor feeding a web to a pair of intermittent feed rolls, and betweenwhich pairs of rolls a web loop is built up during an operation by themechanism on the web. More particularly, this invention relates to meanslocated between the pairs of metering and feed rolls for accuratelysupporting and guiding the web.

In prior art mechanism of the above general type, considerabledifiiculty is often experienced in accurately guiding the rapidly movingweb, particularly where a loop is required to be built up in the web.The web sometimes shifts from one side to the other, and also tends topivot laterally either about the brake bar, if such is used, or aboutthe intermittent feed rolls.

Accordingly, the present invention provides guide means between thepairs of metering and intermittent feed rolls for overcoming the aboveshortcomings and difi'iculties of prior art mechanisms. Morespecifically, the present invention provides a curved apron having sideguide walls which keep the web square in respect to the feed rolls, andwhich prevents lateral pivoting of the web.

These and other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter as thisdisclosure progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, in section of mechanism embodyingthe present invention;

FTGURE 2 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of a portion of themechanism shown in FIGURE 1, but on an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the mechanism shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4- is a sectionai view taken along line 4-4 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, perspective view of one of the side wallsshown in the other views, but on an enlarged scale; and

FXGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line f-6 in FIGURE 2, buton an enlarged scale.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, the carton blank formingapparatus includes a cutter creaser press P having a base 1 whichsupports the upper, fixed platen 2 on the four vertical corner posts 3.A lower platen 4 is vertically reciprocable on these posts by the twopairs of eccentrically driven connecting rods 5 (only one shown) whichare journalled at the lower ends of crankshafts 6 (only one shown) ofthe base.

One of the platens carries the cutting and creasing die '7 while theother carries a base plate 8.

The press also includes a pair or" intermittent feed rolls IF, IFU, apair of continuously active metering feed rolls F, FU, and anintermittently acting brake bar BB. Only one roll of each pair ofintermittent and metering rolls is positively driven, as follows. Thefeed roll F has a gear 10 on the end of its shaft which is driven fromgear 6c through gears 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16; gears 12 and 13 are fixedto a cam shaft 17 while gears 14 and 15 are both fixed to shaft 18. Agear 19 on the end of the feed roll IFU is then driven through a gear 20from another gear 21 fixed on roll F. These gears and shafts are allsuitably journalled in the side walls S and S1 of the press, and iffurther reference to them is deemed necessary, or desirable, referencemay be had to my co- 3,174,569 Fatented Mai. 23, 1965 ice pending US.application Serial No. 256,020, filed February 4, 1963 entitled DriveMechanism For Carton Blank Forming Press, issued as US. Patent No.3,169,456, on February 16, 1965. It is believed suflicient to say herethat a thrust link 22 is vertically reciprocated by a cam 23 on shaft 17to cause the brake bar to intermittently clamp and stop the web W.Another thrust link 24 is actuated by a cam 25 on the shaft 17, to inturn cause the feed roll IF, through the pivoted bracket 26, to open andthereby stop the feed of the web.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the brake bar BB is clamped against itscooperating bar BBU, and the intermittent teed roll IF is open.

The metering rolls act to continuously feed the web at a precise andconstant rate, while the intermittent feed rolls only act to feed theweb intermittently. More specifically, the lower intermittent feed roll1F is swingable, due to the action of cam 25, into and out of nippingengagement with the driven upper roll IFU. The lower roll is driven onlythrough the web and a certain amount of slip may occur between rolls IFand IFU when the web is of a certain tautness. The cam 26 causes thebrake bar to stop the web when the intermittent rolls are open and notfeeding, as when the press is forming the blank. In other words,generally speaking, the bar clamps the web when intermittent feed rollsare open; and the bar is open when said rolls are in closed feedingposition.

During the time the bar is holding the web, the continuously activemetering rolls cause a loop L (FIG. 1} to be formed in the Web.

instead of the type of intermittent feed rolls described above and inwhich one moves relative to one another to create nipping engagement orrelease of the web, other types of intermittent feed rolls can beutilized with the present invention. For example, that type ofintermittent feed rolls which are variable in speed to provide anintermittent web feeding action may be used. In that case, the use of abrake bar may be eliminated because the intermittent feed rolls whenstopped may function to hold the web and permit loop formation.

With the above type of apparatus, a free loop is thus formed in the weband used up many times per minute, and it is this free loop that haspresented difficulties in accurately guiding and controlling the rapidlymoving web. The tendency for such a web is to swing laterally oractually pivot sideways about the intermittent feed rolls or about thebrake bar when they are acting to clamp and hold the web,

It has heretofore been proposed to use side walls as guides on thestraight or flat portion 39 of the feed table. This has not solved theproblem, however, for at least two reasons, (1) when the web is straightor uncurved, its edges often do not have sufficient strength towithstand the pressure and as a result they rupture and cannot guide theweb, and (2) the guiding action of the side walls is located too closelyadjacent the point where pivoting tends to occur and it is insuthcientlyeffective to provide the necessary holding and guiding ability.

In accordance with the present invention, a curved apron 34 is providedbetween the metering rolls F, FU and the intermittent feed rolls IF,IFU, and the free loop L forms below this apron, and the web then passesover the apron and is supported thereby. This apron has a verticalattaching plate 35 welded to each end by which it is secured to the sidewalls S, S1.

As it passes over the apron, the web is formed into a curve whichprovides considerable stiffness or lateral rigidity to the web in thisarea, even though the web stock is of light gauge and does not have muchbody. A pair of side guide walls 36 and 37 are provided over the 3apron, one being located on each side of the web. The lower edges ofthese walls are curved so as to be complementary to and lie closelyadjacent the upper curved surface of the apron. These walls arelaterally adjustable (as will appear later) across the width of theapron so that the edges of the Web bear firmly against them.

In other words, the web is trapped between the walls as it is guided byand moves rapidly past them. The walls must be readily adjustable so asto accommodate various widths of web stock, which widths vary from rollto roll.

Guide means, now to be described, are also provided over the fiatportion of the table, and this guide means together with the apron sidewalls, are adjustable together laterally, as follows.

A manually adjustable, threaded shaft 40 extends transversely above theflat portion 30 of the table and is rotatably mounted in the side wallsS, S1 of the machine by suitable bearings 41 and 42. A handwheel 4-3 isfixed to one end of the shaft for adjustment by the operator. The shafthas oppositely pitched threaded portions 44 and 45 on which arethreadably engaged the blocks 46 and 47, respectively. Longitudinallyextending strips 48 and 49 are secured to the bottom of the blocks andare spaced a small distance above the fiat table portion 39. It will benoted that these strips extend over the apron 34 and are of sufiicientwidth so as to overlay a portion of the web (FIG. 3) which passesbeneath'them. A guide rail 51) is secured in the groove Silain the lowerside of each strip, and these rails bear tightly on the fiat portion 30to prevent the web from running therebeneath. The rails are forcedagainst the table portion 30 by means of the three set-screws 51 whichare held by the lock nuts 51a. The inner side surfaces of these railsare in exact alignment with the inner side surface of their respectiveapron guide walls, so that they form, in effect, a continuous surfacefor guiding the web edges.

The side walls 36 and 37 are rigidly fixed by cap bolts 53 to a block 54that in turn is fixed by cap bolts 55 to the overhanging portion of thelongitudinal strips 48 V and 49. By turning handwheel 43 in onedirection or the other, the guide rails and their aligned side Walls 36and 37 are moved inwardly together toward one another, or are movedoutwardly together to accommodate different web widths. Thus the webedges bear firmly against the longitudinally aligned inner surfaces ofthe apron side walls and their respective guide rails.

It will be noted that the side walls of the apron are locatedimmediately after the metering rolls in respect to direction of webtravel. At this location they are particularly eflective to prevent webswinging in a lateral direction and about the closed intermittent feedrolls,

as an axis. The web is kept square with respect to the rolls and isaccurately guided at all times with no dam age to the web edges.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the following claims particularly pointing'out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as theinvention,

I claim:

1. In carton blank forming apparatus having acutting and creasing pressinto which a web is fed, a pair of metering feed rolls and a pair ofintermittent feed rolls for said web and between which pairs the web isintermittently built up into a loop and then drawn taut when theintermittent feed rolls are acting to feed the web, a curved apronbetween said pairs of rolls and over which the web is formed into acurve as it is drawn taut and travels over said apron, and a pair ofside guide walls over said apron and between which said web is guided,said walls bearing against the opposite edges of the curved portion ofsaid web, the lowermost portion of said metering feed rolls beinglocated approximately at the same height as the lowermost portion ofsaid apron and adja cent thereto, whereby said loop is formed below saidapron and said web is always in contact with said apron and locatedbetween said apron side guide walls.

2. In carton blank forming apparatus having a cutting and creasing pressinto which a web is fed, a pair of meter'ing feed rolls and a pair ofintermittent feed rolls for said web and between which pairs the web isintermittently built up into 'a loop and then drawn taut when theintermittent feed rolls are acting to feed the web, a lower anddownwardly curved apron between said pairs of rolls and having an uppercurved surface over which the web is formed into a curve as it is drawntaut and travels over said apron, and a pair of side guide walls oversaid apron surface and between which said web is guided, and means forlaterally adjusting said walls to bear against the opposite edges of thecurved web, the lowermost portion of said metering feed rolls beinglocated approximately at the same height as the lowermost portion ofsaid apron and adjacent thereto, whereby said loop is formed below saidapron and said web is always in contact with said apron and locatedbetween said apron side guide walls.

3. In carton blank forming apparatus having a cutting and creasingpress, a pair of metering feed rolls and a pair of intermittent feedrolls for feeding a web to said press, an intermittently acting brakebar located between said pairs of feed rolls for stopping said web andbuilding a web loop between said pairs of rolls, a curved apron betweensaid pair of metering rolls and said brake bar and over which apron theweb is drawn taut by action of the intermittent feed rolls when thebrake bar is released, and a pair of side guide walls over said apronand between which said web is guided, said walls bearing against theopposite edges of the curved web, the lowermost portion of said meteringfeed rolls being located approximately at the same height as thelowermost portion of said apron and adjacent thereto, whereby said loopis formed below said apron and said web is always in contact with saidapron and located between .said apron side guide walls.

4. In carton blank forming apparatus having a cutting and creasingpress, a pair of metering feed rolls and a pair of intermittent feedrolls for feeding a web to said I press, an intermittently acting brakebar located between said pairs of feed rolls for stopping said web andbuilding a web loop between said pairs of rolls, a curved lower apronbetween said pair of metering rolls and said brake bar and having anupper curved surface over which the Web is drawn taut by action of theintermittent feed rolls when the brake bar is released, and a pair ofside guide Walls over said apron and between which said web is guided,and means for laterally adjusting said walls to bear against theopposite edges of the curved web, the lowermost portion of said meteringfeed rolls being located approximately at the same height as thelowermostportion of said apron and adjacent thereto, whereby said loopis formed below said apron and said web is always in contact with saidapron and located between said apron side guide walls.

5. In carton blank forming apparatus having a cutting and creasing pressinto which a web is fed, a pair of metering feed rolls and a pair ofintermittent feed rolls for said web and between which pairs of rollsthe web is built up into a loop, a curved apron between said pairs ofrolls and over which the web is drawn taut by action of the intermittentfeed rolls when the brake bar is released, a flat table also betweensaid pairs of rolls and extending rearwardly from said apron as acontinuation thereof and over which the web travels as it leaves saidcurved apron; and a pair of laterally spaced, web edge. guide meansextending longitudinally over said aprorr and said flat table andbetween which means said web is guided, said means adapted to bearagainst the opposite edges of said web, the lowermost portion of saidmeter-' ing vfeed rolls being located approximately at the same:

height as the lowermost portion of said apron and adjacent thereto,whereby said loop is formed below said apron and said web is always incontact with said apron and located between said apron side guide walls.

6. In carton blank forming apparatus having a cutting and creasingpress, a pair of metering feed rolls and a pair of intermittent feedrolls for feeding a web to said press, an intermittently acting brakebar located between said pairs of feed rolls for stopping said web andbuilding up a Web loop between said pairs of rolls, a curved apronbetween said pair of metering rolls and said brake bar and over whichthe web is drawn taut by action of the intermittent feed rolls when thebrake bar is released, a flat table also between said pairs of rolls andextending rearwardly from said apron as a continuation thereof and overwhich the web travels as it leaves said curved apron; and a pair oflaterally spaced, web edge guide means extending longitudinally oversaid apron and said flat table and adapted to bear against the oppositeedges of said web for guiding thereof, the lowermost portion of saidmetering feed rolls being located approximately at the same height asthe lowermost portion of said apron and adjacent thereto, whereby saidloop is formed below said apron and said web is always in contact withsaid apron and located between said apron side guide walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS2,072,122 Montgomery Mar. 2, 1937 2,595,325 Baumgartner May 6, 19522,616,689 Baumgartner Nov. 4, 1952 2,652,247 Kane Sept. 15, 1953 FOREIGNPATENTS 498,343 Canada Dec. 15, 1953

1. IN CARTON BLANK FORMING APPARATUS HAVING A CUTTING AND CREASING PRESSINTO WHICH A WEB IS FED, A PAIR OF METERING FEED ROLLS AND A PAIR OFINTERMITTENT FEED ROLLS FOR SAID WEB AND BETWEEN WHICH PAIRS THE WEB ISINTERMITTTENTLY BUILT UP INTO A LOOP AND WHEN DRAWN TAUT WHEN THEINTERMITTENT FEED ROLLS ARE ACTING TO FEED THE WEB, A CURVED APRONBETWEEN SAID PAIRS OF ROLLS AND OVER WHICH THE WEB IS FORMED INTO ACURVE AS IT IS DRAWN TAUT AND TRAVELS OVER AND SAID APRON, AND A PAIR OFSIDE GUIDE WALLS OVER SAID APRON AND BETWEEN WHICH SAID WEB IS GUIDED,